Thursday, December 6, 2012

Heisman Trophy Winners

Well the Heisman watch is almost over. The 2012 Heisman
Announcement will take place this Saturday! The finalists for the 2012 Heisman
Memorial Trophy are Kansas State University quarterback Collin Klein, Texas A&M University quarterback Johnny Manziel, and University of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o. To prepare for Saturday’s big announcement I
wanted to take a look back at the last five Heisman Trophy winners.

Griffin led Baylor to a 10-3 season including a win in the
Alamo Bowl. During the 2011 season, he had a total of 4,952 offensive yards and
47 touchdowns. Griffin was the first player in school history to win the
Heisman Trophy. In the 2012 NFL Draft, Griffin was drafted in the first round –
second overall – by the Washington Redskins.

Receiving over 80 percent of votes, Newton became the third
Auburn player to win the Heisman Trophy. Newton and the Auburn Tigers made
their first BCS National Championship appearance in 2011 game defeating the
Oregon Ducks 22-19. Days after winning the BCS National Championship, Newton announced
he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2011 NFL Draft. As the number
one pick in the draft, Newton went to the Carolina Panthers. Newton is only the
third player ever to win the Heisman, a national championship and be selected
as the number one NFL draft pick in a one-year span.

As a sophomore, Ingram rushed for 1,658 yards and 17
touchdowns and had 334 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns during the 2009
season. Ingram received the Offensive MVP award after Alabama defeated Texas
37-21 in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game. Ingram returned for his
junior season in 2010 before forgoing his senior season and entering the 2011
NFL draft. The New Orleans Saints selected Ingram in the first round.

Bradford had a total of 4,768 offensive yards during Oklahoma’s
12-1 season. The 2008 Sooners finished the regular season at the top of the BCS
Standings and went on to the 2009 BCS National Championship Game. In the
championship game, Bradford faced fellow Heisman contender Tim Tebow and the
Florida Gators which they lost 24-14. Bradford returned to Oklahoma for his
junior season before entering the NFL Draft. In the 2010 NFL Draft, he was
selected by the St. Louis Rams as the first overall pick.

Tebow was the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy and
the third Florida player to win the award. In his 2007 season, Tebow
had 32 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing touchdowns making him the only player
in FBS history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in both categories
during the same season. Tebow was also a Heisman finalist during his junior
season. After his senior season, Tebow entered the 2010 NFL Draft where he was
selected in the first round by the Denver Broncos.